A Tour Of Cardiff Castle - Wait Until You See Inside! (Definitely NOT Understated)

Hello and welcome from Cardiff Castle, right in the heart of the Welsh capital. Right, some castle snobs claim Cardiff Castle isn't a real castle. Just look at it. It's a romanticized version of a European castle. But they're right about that part. That part is Victorian. But there have been fortifications on this site for nearly 2,000 years. Beginning with the Romans in AD 55. And they remained until the 4th century. And during that time, they built four fortresses on the site. Then the Normans arrived in the 11th century. Our old friends the Normans. And they saw the ruins of the Romans and said, "This is a good place to build a castle." And the remains of their castle you can still see today inside. By the way, those prices were for entering the castle buildings. It's free to just enter the premises. So if you just want to walk in, have a look around, see the Norman keep—everything's free. But if you want to tour the Victorian section, the more elaborate part, which I highly recommend, you do have to pay. So one of the reasons for making this video is to show you how beautiful and how fascinating Wales is. During our last cruise, there were many Americans and other tourists. And they were spending an extra week or two after the cruise to visit the rest of the country. They were going to Scotland, Ireland, and northern England. But few, if any, were coming to Wales. And Wales is just two hours by train from London. And this is what you're missing. Just one of the many castles in Wales. So if you recall your castles from school, that's a classic Mott & Bailey structure. Mott being the hill and the Bailey being the enclosure around it. And that structure on top, the keep, the stone keep, was probably built in the 12th century by Robert of Gloucester. Well, Cardiff Castle was in the possession of the Herbert family from around 1550 to 1776. And despite sustaining some damage during the Civil War, it was essentially ignored by Oliver Cromwell. In 1776, the last Herbert heir, Charlotte Jane, passed the estate to her husband, John Lord Mount Stewart. Who rose to become the Marquess of Boot. In 1814, John, the grandson of Boot, inherited this title and the castle. And in 1825, the new Marquess began a series of investments in the Cardiff docks. And Cardiff became a major coal exporting port. But it wasn't until John, the third Marquess of Boot, that the castle was truly transformed. And those changes, along with his unique additions, are what we're going to see very soon. Well, the young Marquess of Boot engaged the services of architect William Burgess. And they both shared a passion for the Gothic Revival. And those exaggerated, one-of-a-kind designs are exactly what we'll see once we step inside those buildings. Just quickly, before I go in, don't forget to like and subscribe. Also, we now have a Patreon. So if you want to see more of us, yes, more of us, the link is below. So click on this. Appreciate it. Anyway, I think we've waited long enough. Let's go inside. I'm just about to go into the first room. The Arab room. Take a look at this. You can't really call it understated. Well, you couldn't say any of that interior design was understated, could you? That was the work of the third Marquess of Boot and William Burgess. And if you'd like to see more of their work, head to Castle Cork, just down the road. I have a video on that. I'll link it below. So after that overdose of Gothic revival, let's head to an original section of the castle, the Norman Keep up there. That was the Norman Keep. But before I go, I think there's more to see. During the war, World War II, they used the tunnels beneath the castle, the old medieval tunnels, as bomb shelters. And I think some of those are open to the public. Let's go and see. Right now, I'm in the basement of the front part of the castle. And they have a depiction of Roman chariots, because behind me is the old Roman wall. Not underground, actually, in the walls. And it's really creepy when no one's around. Even though it's a Sunday afternoon and the castle is quite busy, There are times when there's no one around. It's quite atmospheric. That was Cardiff Castle. Well worth a visit. But if you'd like to see more of Wales or learn more about Cardiff, I've got some videos coming up next. And I'll see you in one of those. Bye.